| It was bound to happen at some point. The Villain, | | | | championship. No less than four bumps at Cup races |
| with little following and a dark reputation, gets | | | | have occurred between the two since the spring of |
| dumped by NASCAR's most celebrated team in favor | | | | '07, all resulting in accidents. Still, Junior felt the |
| of the Hero with a prodigious fan base. The brash | | | | Richmond spin could have, and should have been |
| Villain signs with another power race team and, | | | | avoided. |
| supposedly, nurses a grudge against the Hero, whose | | | | The technical explanation was that by getting too |
| popularity soars as he rakes in far more cash amid | | | | close to Junior, who was on the outside, Busch's No. |
| more glory despite numbers that fall below his own. | | | | 18 Toyota lost air flow and got too loose. Post-race |
| A fortuitous meeting on the race track in the closing | | | | tempers flared, not between Dale Jr. and |
| moments at Richmond pits both drivers in a tight | | | | "Shrub"-Busch's less favorable nickname-but among |
| struggle for the lead. Villain and Hero bump, and the | | | | Earnhardt Jr. fans in attendance and some of his |
| latter's best chance for a long awaited win goes up in | | | | Hendrick crew. One of the crew members |
| smoke. | | | | confronting Busch on pit road, Rick Pigeon, served on |
| This was no fairy tale. Kyle Busch was driving in the | | | | his No. 5 crew at Hendrick Motorsports last season. |
| same manner as the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.-the | | | | Knee-jerk outbursts, idle threats, and considerable |
| unrepentant Intimidator himself-when he and Dale | | | | rancor continue to linger from Junior's legions through |
| Earnhardt Jr. brushed noses with just over three laps | | | | the shelter of e-mail. |
| left at the Dan Lowry 400. Both drivers had refused | | | | Mark Martin, driving Junior's old No. 8 for Dale |
| to budge with the lead at stake. The resulting spinout | | | | Earnhardt Inc., finished third at Richmond , just behind |
| kept Junior winless for two years running and the | | | | Busch and race winner Clint Bowyer, who slid |
| past 72 races. | | | | underneath to take the lead after the Busch/Junior |
| Busch had already bickered with Steven Wallace | | | | bump. Earnhardt Jr. came in 15th. Bowyer drives for |
| following the Nationwide Series race on Friday, when | | | | Richard Childress Racing, Earnhardt Sr.'s former |
| Wallace grabbed and shoved an angry Busch by the | | | | employer and a team Junior shunned in favor of a |
| helmet. Late on the next night, Earnhardt Jr. and | | | | Hendrick ride. |
| Busch inherited their positions when 381-lap leader | | | | Busch and Junior had not spoken to or seen one |
| Denny Hamlin developed a slow leak on one of his | | | | another before facing off on the track last weekend |
| tires. Junior took and held the early advantage on a | | | | at Darlington . Both drivers are downplaying any hard |
| three-wide pass before Hamlin parked his fading | | | | feelings from the May 3 race, but a rivalry of |
| Toyota on the track and drew a caution, which | | | | enormous impact continues to brew. |
| bunched the field and brought Busch, his Joe Gibbs | | | | Despite no wins in 2008, Earnhardt Jr. was still third in |
| Racing teammate, closer to the No. 88 Chevrolet. | | | | the point standings prior to May 10. Busch, recently |
| Hamlin, needing a better opening to pit road, was | | | | named First Quarter Driver of the Year in '08, was in |
| given a two-lap penalty for prompting the yellow flag. | | | | first place after two wins and six top-five finishes |
| Dale Jr. had taken Busch out in similar fashion last fall | | | | through 10 Sprint Cup Series races. He has five more |
| at Kansas City , when he and "Rowdy" were vying | | | | wins in the Nationwide (3) and Craftsman Truck (2) |
| for the win and Busch still had a shot at the series | | | | series. |